WORLD CLUBS CUP

Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup Line-ups Announced

By Ali Feizasa

The 2017 Greco-Roman World Clubs Cup is set to take place in Isfahan, Iran, Thursday and Friday.

Of the 13 competing teams, the four who are potential favorites to wrestle for the World Clubs Cup title will be Bimeh Razi (IRI), Buyuksehir (TUR), Moscow (RUS), and Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI).

In the line-up for Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI), the defending champions, is world champion, Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) and Olympic silver medal winner, Zhan BELENYUK (UKR).

Leading a loaded Moscow squad will be six-time Olympic and world medal winner, Aleksei MISHIN (RUS). Others stars in action for Moscow include world finalist, Musa EVLOEV (RUS), 2017 U-23 world silver medalist, Sergey EMELIN (RUS), and Russian Championships runner-up, Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS). 

Directing Bimeh Razi, the host team, will be Olympic gold medalist, Roman VLASOV (RUS) and Olympic bronze medalist, Saeid ABDEVALI (IRI). Other big names wrestling for Bimeh Razi are three-time junior world champion Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO), 2017 world bronze medalist, Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI), and Artem SURKOV (RUS).

Led by world champion, Metehan BASAR (TUR) and U-23 world champion Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR), World Clubs Cup runner-up in 2017, Buyuksehir (TUR) will be another event favorite.

The competition will be held with new rules in 10 weight categories.

Program of 2017 GR World Clubs Cup:

Thursday
7:30 to 8:00 – Weigh in
10:00 to 14:00- First & second round
15:00 to 16:30- Second and Third round
16:30 to 17:00- Opening ceremony
17:00 to 18:30- Third round
18:30 to 21:30- Competition between second to fourth teams of the groups

Friday
7:00 to 7:30- Weigh-in
9:00 to 10:30- Semifinals between group winners
10:30 to 12:00- Competitions for fifth place to tenth place winners
13:30 to 15:00- Third place match
15:00 to 16:30- Final match

Predictable line-ups of 2017 GR Wrestling World Clubs Cup:

Moscow Team (RUS)
55kg- Aleksei KINZHIGALIEV (RUS)
60kg- Sergey EMELIN (RUS)                  
63kg- Sanal SEMENOV (RUS)
67kg- Pavel SALEEV (RUS)
72kg- Denis MURTAZIN (RUS)
77kg- Ilias MAGAMADOV (RUS)
82kg- Roman YUSIPOV (RUS)
87kg- Aleksei MISHIN (RUS)
97kg- Musa EVLOEV (RUS)
130kg- Zurabi GEDEKHAURI (RUS)

Bimeh Razi Isfahan (IRI)
55kg-– Saman ABDEVALI (IRI)
60kg- Mehrdad MARDANI (IRI)
63kg- Moslem NADERI- Hossein ASADI (IRI)
67kg- Artem SURKOV (RUS)
72kg- Mohammad Ali GERAEI (IRI) - Farshad BELFEKE
77kg- Saeid ABDEVALI
82kg-Roman VLASOV (RUS) -  Mehdi FALLAH (IRI)
87kg- Ali Akbar HEYDARI
97kg- Seyed Mostafa SALEHIZADEH (IRI)
130kg- Zviadi PATARIDZE (GEO) - Shahab GHOURE JILI (IRI)

Buyuksehir (TUR)
55kg- Hammet RUSTEM (TUR)
60kg- Muslum ALINLI
63kg- Fatih UCUNCU (TUR)
67kg- Atakan YUKSEL (TUR)
72kg- Yunus OZEL (TUR)
77kg- Serkan AKKOYUN (TUR)
82kg- Burhan AKBUDAK (TUR)
87kg- Metehan BASAR (TUR)
97kg- Fatih BASKOY (TUR)
130kg- Irfan METE (TUR)

Sina Sanat Izeh (IRI)
55kg- Shirzad BEHESHTI TALA (IRI) – Shahin BODAGHI
60kg- Meysam DELKHANI (IRI) – Reza KHEDRI (IRI)
 63kg- Mohammadreza GERAEI (IRI)
67kg- Karen ASLANYAN (ARM) – Behnam MORADI (IRI)
72kg- Ali ARSALAN (IRI)
77kg- Payam BOYERI (IRI)
82kg- Maksim MANUKYAN (ARM) – Keyvan REZAEI (IRI)
87kg- Zhan BELENYUK (UKR)
97kg- Hassan ARYANEJAD
130kg- Mehdi NOURI (IRI)

Dinamo Armenia (ARM)
55kg- Rudik MKRTCHYAN (ARM)
60kg- Murad HARUTYUNYAN
63kg- Slavik GALSTYAN (ARM)
67kg- Aleksan MIKAYELYAN
72kg- Armen HAKOBYAN (ARM)
77kg- Ruben GHARIBYAN (ARM)
82kg- Argishti ABGARYAN (ARM)
87kg- Gegam TORGOMYAN (ARM)
97kg- Vagharsak MINASYAN (ARM)
130kg- Edgar KHACHATRYAN (ARM)

Georgian Club (GEO)
55kg- Nugzari TSURTSUMIA (GEO)
60kg- Beka BALANCHIVADZE (GEO)
63kg- Dato CHKHARTISHBILI
67kg- Tornike JANGAVADZE (GEO) – Muradi MIKELADZE (GEO)
72kg- Ramazi ZOIDZE (GEO)  - Sachino DAVITAIA (GEO)
77kg- Bakuri GOGOLI (GEO)
82kg- Varlami KVARATSKHELIA
87kg- Gurami KHETSURIANI (GEO)
97kg- Kukuri KIRTSKHSLIA
130kg- Levani ARABULI (GEO)

Paok Greece (GRE)
55kg- TBD
60kg- Odysseas MOURTIDIS (GRE)
63kg- Christos THEODORAKIS (GRE)
67kg- Konstantinos MAKRIDIS (GRE)
72kg- Petros MANOUILIDIS (GRE)
77kg- Panagiotis SISMANIDIS  (GRE)
82kg- Ioannis TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
87kg- Dimitrios TSEKERIDIS  (GRE)
97kg- Leon Laokratis BJURBERG KESSIDIS (GRE)
130kg- Georgios BETAS (GRE)

Budapest SC (HUN)
55kg- József ANDRASI (HUN)
60kg- István VANCZA (HUN)
63kg- Bence KOVACS (HUN)
67kg- István KOZAK (HUN)
72kg- Martin TOTH  (HUN)
77kg- Dominik GEGENY
82kg- Dáriusz VITEK
87kg- Bence MARTIN
97kg- Róbert ÉRSEK
130kg- Arnold PAP

Samsun (UKR)
55kg- Sergii STOROZHENKO (UKR)
60kg- Andriy MARTYNYUK
63kg- Anton KUTSENKO (UKR)
67kg- Fevzi MAMUTOV (UKR)
72kg- Artur POLITAIEV
77kg- Pavlo MOLNAR (UKR)
82kg- Yaroslav FILCHAKOV (UKR)
87kg- Iurii SHKRIUBA
97kg- Myloka KRYSOV
130kg-Mykola KUCHMII

SHOHADAYE Modafe Haram QOM (IRI)
55kg- Mehdi GHORBANI- Mohammad Javad REZAEI (IRI)
60kg- Alireza NEJATI (IRI) - Reza MARDI (IRI)
63kg- Ali ASghar PASALARI
67kg- Mehdi MORAD SALEHI (IRI) - Behnam AFSHAR NIK
72kg- Ali SOLEYMANI (IRI) - Afshin ESLAMI (IRI)
77kg- Hadi ALIZADH - Mohammad Reza REZAEI (IRI)
82kg-Mehdi EBRAHIMI (IRI)
87kg- Mohammad Ali HEYDARI (IRI)
97kg- Omid EFTEKHARI ASL
130kg- Parsa NAZARI (IRI)

Sport Club Physical Academy (KGZ)
55kg-Dastan KADYROV (KGZ)
60kg- Iliiaz  SEITOV (KGZ)
63kg- Adil DZHUMABEKOV
67kg- Konokbai SAGYNBEKOV (KGZ)

72kg: TBD
77kg: TBD
87kg-Ilim BILIMOV (KGZ)
97kg-Ilgiz BILIMOV (KGZ)
130kg: TBD


Other members of Kirgizstan team:
uulu Arstanbek
Ulan Derkembaev  
Kubat Mambetov
Roman Muratov
Maksat Omorov
Pakhmatbek Zainitdinov
Erbol Zhaparaliev
Kubatbek Zheenaliev

Tajik Air (TJK)
55kg- Khasan SUFIEV (TJK)
60kg-TBD
63kg- Zainudin QAMAROV (TJK)
67kg- Oiqi AMIRKHONZODA (TJK)
72kg- Azizbeki SHARIFZODA (TJK)
77kg-Sulton Shokhi KHASANOV
82kg- Sukhrob ABDULKHAEV (TJK)
87kg- Amirjon JURAEV
97kg- Mirzoamin SAFAROV
130kg- Azmuddin VAKHOBOV (TJK)

Romania Olympic Hopes (ROU)
55kg- Florin TITA (ROU)
60kg- Razvan ARNAUT (ROU)
63kg- Teodor HORATAU (ROU)
67kg- Irinel BOTEZ MIHAI (ROU)
72kg- Boanta NICOLAE
77kg- Adrian AGACHE
82kg- TBD
87kg- Samuel OJOG NICU (ROU)
97kg- Constantin PIRVAN DORIN (ROU)
130kg- Alin ALEXUC CIURARIU- Istvan BEREI LENARD (ROU)

 

#WrestleParis

Which nations have qualified in Freestyle for Paris Olympics

By Eric Olanowski

PARIS, France (May 1) -- The ultra-competitive and uber-emotional final stage of the Paris Olympic Qualifiers is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkiye, May 9-12.

After next week’s Battle on the Bosporus -- which is the sixth and final event on the Olympic qualification calendar -- all 288 tickets to Paris 2024 will be booked and the nations wrestling in Paris will be set.

Breakdown of quotas allocations for Paris 2024:
- World Championships = 30 freestyle, 30 women’s wrestling and 30 Greco-Roman = 90 quotas
- Continental Olympic Qualifiers (x4 continents) = 12 freestyle, 12 women’s wrestling and 12 Greco-Roman = 36
- World Olympic Qualifier = 18 freestyle, 18 women’s wrestling and 18 Greco-Roman = 54
- Total = 96 freestyle, 96 women’s wrestling and 96 Greco-Roman = 288 wrestlers in Paris

It’s worth noting, and as you’ll see below, the induvial wrestler who earns the ticket to the Olympic Games does not own the right to compete in Pairs. Ultimately, it’s the National Olympic Committee / country who selects their entry for the Games.

For example: David TAYLOR (USA), through his world-title winning performance in Belgrade, punched the United States’ ticket at 86kg. But after going through their Olympic Trails, and with Taylor falling in the finals, the Stars and Stripes will send Aaron BROOKS (USA) to Paris at 86kg.

Over the last 288 days, wrestles have gone through two of three stages vying for their opportunity to earn their nation’s berth to Pairs.

The beginning stages of the qualification process took place last September at the 2023 World Championships, in Belgrade, Serbia, where there was a total of 90 quotas up for the taking. Wrestlers who won a medal--gold, silver or bronze (x2)-- earned a ticket for their country.

Additionally, the two losers of the bronze-medal matches faced off in an Olympic playoff match, determining the fifth allocation in Belgrade.

Then came the Continental Olympic Qualifiers, where 36 quotas per continent were handed out.

Those athletes who reached the finals of their respective weight classes at the Pan-American, African & Oceania, European and Asian Olympic Qualifiers booked their nation’s ticket to Paris.

Now, after traveling through Belgrade, Acapulco, Alexandria, Baku and Bishkek, we’ve reached Istanbul for the “Last Chance Qualifier.”

There will be a slight adjustment to the number of allocations given in Istanbul, where in addition to the finalists earning berths to Paris, there will be an Olympic playoff between the winners of the bronze-medal matches to determine the final entries for the Olympic Games.

The draws for the World Olympic Qualifier will take place on May 8, with wrestling beginning the following day. Greco-Roman will compete live on UWW+ on May 9-10, women’s wrestling on May 10-11 and freestyle on May 11-12.

Here are the freestyle nations that have qualified for the Paris Olympics before the start of the World Olympic Qualifier (May 9-12).

57kg
From World Championships
Serbia (Stevan MICIC)
Japan (Rei HIGUCHI)
Albania (Zelimkhan ABAKAROV)
Armenia (Arsen HARUTYUNYAN)
Zavur UGUEV as an Individual Neutral Athlete

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Mexico (Roman BRAVO YOUNG)
Puerto Rico (Darian CRUZ)

From Africa & Oceania Qualifier
Egypt (Gamal MOHAMED)
Guinea Bissau (Diamantino IUNA FAFE)

From European OG Qualifier
Azerbaijan (Aliabbas RZAZADE)
Aryan TSIUTRYN as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Asian OG Qualifier
Kyrgyzstan (Bekzat ALMAZ UULU)
Uzbekistan (Gulomjon ABDULLAEV)

From World Olympic Qualifier
India (Aman AMAN)
United States (Spencer LEE) 
China (Wanhao ZOU) 

65kg
From World Championships
Hungary (Iszmail MUSZUKAJEV)
Puerto Rico (Sebastian RIVERA)
Shamil MAMEDOV as an Individual Neutral Athlete
Armenia (Vazgen TEVANYAN)
Iran (Rahman AMOUZAD)

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Mexico (Austin GOMEZ)
Cuba (Alejandro VALDES)

From African & Oceania Qualifier
Australia (Georgii OKOROKOV)
Samoa (Gaku AKAZAWA)

From European OG Qualifier
Georgia (Goderdzi DZEBISASHVILI)
Azerbaijan (Haji ALIYEV)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Japan (Kotaro KIYOOKA)
Kyrgyzstan (Ernazar AKMATALIEV)

From World Olympic Qualifier
Albania (Islam DUDAEV)
Mongolia (Tulga TUMUR OCHIR)
United States (Zain RETHERFORD)


74kg
From World Championships
Zaurbek SIDAKOV as Individual Neutral Athlete
USA (Kyle DAKE)
Serbia (Hetik CABOLOV)
Japan (Daichi TAKATANI)
Greece (Georgios KOUGIOUMTSIDIS)

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Venezuela (Anthony MONTERO)
Cuba (Geandry GARZON)

From African & Oceania Qualifier
Guinea Bissau (Bacar NDUM)
Egypt (Amr HUSSEN)

From European OG Qualifier
Azerbaijan (Turan BAYRAMOV)
Mahamedkhabib KADZIMAHAMEDAU as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Asian OG Qualifier
Uzbekistan (Bekzod ABDURAKHMONOV)
Yones EMAMI (Iran)

World Olympic Qualifier
Tajikistan (Viktor RASSIDIN)
Slovakia (Taimuraz SALKAZANOV)
Albania (Chermen VALIEV)

86kg
From World Championships
United States (David TAYLOR)
Iran (Hassan YAZDANI)
Kazakhstan (Azamat DALUETBEKOV)
San Marino (Myles AMINE)
Uzbekistan (Javrail SHAPIEV)

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Puerto Rico (Ethan RAMOS)
Canada (Alexander MOORE)

From African & Oceania Qualifier
Australia (Jayden LAWRENCE)
Algeria (Fateh BENFERDJALLAH)

From European OG Qualifier
Artur NAIFONOV as Individual Neutral Athlete
Azerbaijan (Osman NURMAGOMEDOV)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Japan (Hayato ISHIGURO)
Mongolia (Bat Erdene BYAMBASUREN)

World Olympic Qualifier
Greece (Dauren KURUGLIEV)
Bulgaria (Magomed RAMAZANOV)
Georgia (Vladimiri GAMKRELIDZE)

97kg
From World Championships
Bahrain (Akhmed TAZHUDINOV)
Azerbaijan (Magomedkhan MAGOMEDOV)
United States (Kyle SNYDER)
Georgia (Givi MATCHRASHVILI)
Turkiye (Ibrahim CIFTCI)

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Cuba (Arturo SILOT TORRES)
Dominic Republic (Luis PEREZ)

From African & Oceania Qualifier
Egypt (Mostafa ELDERS)
South Africa (Nicolaas DE LANGE)

From European OG Qualifier
Alikhan ZHABRAILOV as Individual Neutral Athlete
Aliaksandr HUSHTYN as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Asian OG Qualifier
Kazakhstan (Alisher YERGALI)
Iran (Amirali AZARPIRA)

World Olympic Qualifier
Germany (Erik THIELE)
Poland (Zbigniew BARANOWSKI)
China (Awusayiman HABILA)

125kg
From World Championships
Iran (Amir Hossein ZARE)
Georgia (Geno PETRIASHVILI)
Turkiye (Taha AKGUL)
United States (Mason PARRIS)
Abdulla KURBANOV as Individual Neutral Athlete

From Pan-Am Qualifier
Puerto Rico (Jonovan SMITH)
Canada (Amarveer DHESI)

From African & Oceania Qualifier
Nigeria (Ashton MUTUWA)
Egypt (Diaaeldin ABDELMOTTALEB)

From European OG Qualifier
Dzianis KHRAMIANKOU as Individual Neutral Athlete
Azerbaijan (Giorgi MESHVILDISHVILI)

From Asian OG Qualifier
Mongolia (Lkhagvagerel MUNKHTUR)
Kazakhstan (Yusup BATIRMURZAEV)

World Olympic Qualifier
Kyrgyzstan (Aiaal LAZAREV)
China (Zhiwei DENG)
Hungary (Daniel LIGETI)